A living hell
by Rosa Cooper
Summary: Poor Carmelita! She has to put up with so much at work! Here's my insight on one of them, with a little hope attached. Rated T just in case...


A/N and **_Disclaimer_**: Hallo. This one's about Carmelita's life at work, which sucks totally:( But it's one of _my_ stories, which means there's almost always a happy ending. And it sucks. Sorry:) Oh yeah, I don't own Sly, Carmelita, Interpol or anything else. I only own what's in my room or in my locker:) So, on with the story…

Carmelita stood in the empty elevator as it slowly lifted her to her floor in the Interpol building, Paris district. She shuddered and tried to ready herself for the journey to her office. She just had to make it to the end of the corridor, one turn and her door was in sight. Then she'd be safe. The sensible part of her mind spoke up. _You've done it so many times before_, it said to her fears, _and it hasn't killed you._

But her emotions begged to differ. Every morning, evening, lunch break, in fact any time she wasn't in her office or on the field, her fellow officers would make her life a living hell. Female officers would feel threatened by her skill and looks, and start nasty rumours about her, sometimes telling them to her face. They excluded her as a social outcast, despising what she symbolized to them. Male officers would interrupt her, or step in her way, just to try a move on her, making unhidden suggestions, gestures, or signals to or about her. Mostly her body.

She hated it. That's all they saw in her. An object, a symbol for them to despise or use. Except her boss. He saw her as a failure, just because she had yet to catch one measly criminal.

Cooper. She knew that he wasn't the reason behind all this verbal abuse, this harassment. But rumours had started about the Cop and the Thief that only fueled the anger, jealously and spite she had to live with, day in day out. For the last four years. It was hell.

The elevator numbers had stopped ticking. A bell chimed cheerfully. But a frown had settled on Carmelita's features. The steel doors slid open noiselessly. Carmelita tried to walk as quietly as she could along the floorboards, trying not to bring attention to herself, to be noticed by anyone.

It was times like this she wished she could turn invisible, just for a moment or two. But there was always some jerk at the water cooler, and he always had something to say to her that practically signaled to the other officers of her presence. Today it was an arrogant panther.

'Hey sweetie,' he drawled. 'Don't you look cute today?'

Carmelita glared at him as she tried walking past. He moved leisurely from leaning against the wall to stand in the middle of the doorway.

'What's the rush?' he asked, a greasy grin plastered on his smug face. His hand reached for her, but she slapped it away forcefully, hissing, 'Don't you dare touch me, buster, or I will hurt you worse than you can possibly imagine.'

Other officers had heard the commotion, and leant their heads into the corridor. The more gullible officers actually standing outside their doors. Then the taunting started.

'Hey, darling, you want to meet me later today-'  
'What are you doing at lunch-'  
'How about you and I-'  
'My my, isn't someone looking-'  
'Gorgeous day, ain't it-'

Then the women started.

'Look at her-'  
'How can she come in like that-'  
'Acting as if she owns the place-'  
'You can tell she wants the attention-'  
'What a selfish b-'

She pushed past the officer and headed once more for her door. The words and comments from the other Interpol officers swam around her mind, each one hurting, damaging her, forcing her to stay strong against anything anyone said to her. Four years ago she would have ran to her office and cried.

But not anymore. She kept walking at a dignified pace, turning the corner towards her office. Why did they have to put _her _office so far away? More officers had noticed or realized she was here, and more insults flew at her. She pushed them away from her mind. Her office was so close, its bright red wood and golden star beckoning like the reward at the end of a journey. Her frown faded. She was so close.

But there was one more problem in her way. Another officer had thought it wise to lean against her doorway, grinning as she turned towards him. He was a wolf, dark grey fur and black eyes. His hair was black and slicked back to his skull. He stood, arms crossed over a white shirt, until she stopped in front of him.

'Excuse me sir,' she said tersely. 'You are in my way.' Her frown had been replaced by a scowl that would scare Satin himself. The wolf just grinned, either too cocky or too stupid to fully realize the danger of her look.

He didn't answer immediately. Instead, he looked her up and down, his grin widening as his gaze stooped on certain parts of her before he looked her in the face.

'Hey babe,' he said, his voice dripping with confidence. 'You and me should hook up sometime, perhaps we could take an extended lunch break.'

He winked at her. Carmelita tried very hard not to punch this jerk right in the middle of his self-absorbed face. Her fists clenched. But being a law-abiding police officer, she managed to refrain herself from implying serious injury. Not verbally though.

'GET OUT OF MY WAY, YOU IDIOTIC, BRAINLESS SCUMBAG!' She yelled at the top of her voice, deafening the nearby officers. The wolf jumped, and she took this chance to push him aside and get into her office, slamming the door behind her.

She closed off the voices from outside, the 'oooh's from the other officers and the insults of the rejected wolf. They should be used to it by now, she thought ironically. After all, it was no secret that she had rejected every officer that had made a move on her, or asked her out.

Sighing, she managed to make it behind her desk before collapsing into her chair, her arms and legs giving way and flopping like over-cooked pasta. The oak desk in front of her was piled to her ears with paperwork, mostly concerning the Cooper case. She looked up at it, her heart sinking. This pile would take her the rest of the week, and during that time she was bound to get more to add to it.

She was about to avert her gaze from the depressing paper when something caught her eye. It was a familiar looking card, shaped roughly like a raccoon's head, with blue covering half of it. It sat neatly on top of her pile, at just the right angle so she could see it clearly when she sat down.

Carmelita's fur stood on end, her tail bristling. A shocked look crossed her face, before a scowl overtook it. _How on earth did Cooper get in and out of her office without anyone noticing?_

She picked up the calling card and examined it. Reading the message, a small smile crossed her face, the first hint of happiness she had felt since arriving for work. Of course, instantly she pushed that warm feeling away and put the card, more gently this time, onto her desk as she searched for her file of the Cooper case. The card sat on her table, a small symbol of hope.

It read simply, _Hang in there! – Sly_.

A/N: Yes, another soppy story:) And no, I can't help myself:) Review to complain, whine, or maybe say that it _isn't_ hopeless. You never know, they say miracles can happen when you least expect them:)


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